Spotify’s News is Music to Our Ears

Spotify’s News is Music to Our Ears2017-03-312017-05-18https://publiqly.com/app/uploads/2017/01/PubliqlyLogo-Final-1.pngPubliqlyhttps://publiqly.com/app/uploads/2017/03/music-concert-image.jpg200px200px

On March 27, Stockholm-based music service Spotify announced this acquisition in a press release that consisted of a mere 5 paragraphs. Media of all types — from business website Forbes to advertising, entertainment and music publications, and even Hollywood’s Variety — ran a story. So what lessons can we learn from this short and sweet announcement?

1. Strong News Hooks. Spotify used two effective News Hooks to grab the attention of journalists and readers:

The company tied its message to a popular trend — advertising technology and marketing personalization. This means collecting data about an individual’s behavior to present personally relevant ads in a way that doesn’t interrupt the entertainment experience. Spotify is telling advertisers that the company is focused on being a leader in this area.

Spotify was eager to point out that it had appointed MightyTV CEO Brian Adams as its new VP of Technology, which made up more than half of the headline. Names make news, and while Adams isn’t a household name, he has enough credibility and recognition in the advertising technology industry. The press release also noted that he sold a previous company, Admeld, to Google in 2011.

2. Ready-to-Use Image and Quotes. Spotify noted that Adams was a big part of the acquisition and included a photo of him in the announcement, making it easy for journalists to use in their articles. They also provided some short and easy-to-use quotes that the media could simply cut and paste into their stories.

3. Focused Message. Spotify framed the news in a positive and interesting way. They turned what would have been a boring takeover into an interesting trend story. The press release also emphasized that Spotify’s acquisition is more about the transfer of talented people than a takeover of capital goods or assets. All their key messages landed with top media, which helped them connect with a wide and varied audience.

Conclusion: Less is More

Spotify is a hot name. When they have news to announce it gets noticed and people listen. But even for companies like Spotify, it’s still a challenge to get their key messages across. Spotify’s press release did an excellent job on that front, positioning the company as a people business and an emerging leader in the advertising technology trend.

If you want the media to pick up your story, make life easy for them. Show them why they should care about the news, spoon feed them all the components they need to write and illustrate their story and eliminate all the fluff and extraneous information. Remember, Spotify’s press release got the job done in just five paragraphs: less is more.

Check out Spotify’s press release here and let me know in the comments section below why you think it was so effective and what lessons you will likely apply in your next press release.